Still I Rise Essay

Tone Of Still I Rise
"Still I Rise," written by poet Maya Angelou, has a blend of tones. Some are playful, funny, angry,
confident, and bitter. However, the poem's tone, as the title implies, is conquering."Still I Rise" is a
poem about strength, perseverance, and confirmation. It is about what is expected of a person and
what that person is able to do in spite of the expectations. Angelou, in the first stanza, she talks about
being characterized very negatively. This can be the effect of the history during the time that
Angelou grew up, back when segregation was allowed in the United States. The "bitter" and "twisted
lies" can represent the racist and negative comments that people made and thought during this time.
Line three may illustrate the hate crimes that
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Still I Rise, By Maya Angelou
In both Maya Angelou's book and poems, she creates a powerful imagery of her hardships in life
and actions towards others. Maya Angelou creates a perception of herself in these stories showing
her unbreakable attitude and opposing outlook during her troubling times. "Still I rise" the poem by
Maya Angelou brings such a powerful message, and a unfamiliar characteristic to Maya. This poem
perceives Maya as confident, sexy, and having self respect. Maya personality shares that others
destructive and hateful acts should not ruin someone's self respect, self esteem, and self worth. She
reveals that discriminators and haters have a destructive craving to destroy others pride, and view of
themselves. In this poem she shows emphasis on the phrase

Still I Rise
Mrs. Jones and the speaker in "Still I Rise" are both strong women. However, The two women are
strong in their own ways. Mrs. Jones is strong because she does the unexpected. When Roger tries
to steal her purse she shows mercy to him by not calling the cops. In my opinion it takes a lot of
strength to show kindness to someone who has done you wrong. Instead Mrs. Jones helps Roger,
and gives him money to buy shoes. This proves my point of how she is a strong women. Unlike the
speaker in "Still I Rise" Mrs. Jones was like the person that did her wrong. She wants to make a point
to teach him a lesson like someone did for her. Mrs. Jones changed and became a better person. The
speaker in "Still I Rise" is a strong woman because of how she reacts to the hatred. The speaker has
been broken before. I know this because in stanza 1 she states "You may tread me in the very dirt
but still like dust i'll rise." In the poem the repetition of still I rise helps you understand the writer is
strong and won't be pushed down. The writer compares...show more content...
Mrs. Jones and the speaker from "Still I Rise" are both merciful. Instead of Mrs. Jones turning
Roger in to the police she shows him mercy and gives money for shoes. In comparison, the
speaker from "Still I Rise" shows mercy to the people that tell lies about her. She decides to be the
bigger person and not clap back at them. This takes a powerful person to show mercy to a person
that has done you wrong. Both women show kindness to people who may not deserve it in other
people's eyes. I know this because Mrs. Jones takes roger, the boy who tried to rob her, home to
wash his face. The speaker from "Still I Rise" states in stanza eight that, "Up from a past that's
rooted in pain, I rise" This shows me she is forgetting the past of suffering and being nice to others.
The speaker is saying she will be the bigger person and forget how others had treated her

Still I Rise
Maya Angelou's 1978 poem, Still I Rise main themes are discrimination and self respect and it
also talks about two different types of oppression; sexism and racial oppression, not just black
women but also women in general can also. This poem contains a number of different tones and
several other language devices, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, imagery and rhetorical questions, uses
certain words to position the responders the way she wants The very first word of Still I Rise is
'You'. This suggests that the poet is clearly addressing the person reading the poem and making
them feel as if they are being spoken to directly and personally and making them think about whether
or not they are someone that oppresses people in this way. Angelou uses words like: weakened,
soulful cries, kill, hatefulness etc. to position the responders to feel it sympathy for her and others
going through the same thing....show more content...
It contains rhetorical questions; "Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered
eyes?" which are used to get the responder to think about everything that is being stated in the
poem. Lines such as "I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide, welling and swelling I bear in the tide"
(33, 34) is an example of personification, the ocean leaps and it also includes a metaphor; I am a
black ocean (33). Hyperbole is used in the sixth Still I Rise is structured in 8 stanzas with four lines
to the first seven of them; the last stanza has fifteen lines. The first 7 stanzas have a rhyming

Still I Rise By Maya Angelou Essay
Julie A. McGuire
ENGL102
Anne V. Powell
June 23, 2015
Still I Rise
Maya Angelou's poem, "Still I Rise" shows a repetition of strength stanza after stanza. African
Americans were faced with the challenges of oppression and slavery. African American women not
only as a minority of African American race, but as a female, were faced with all those challenges,
along with woman's rights. It took 55 years after the abolishment of slavery for females to finally
have the right to vote, under the 19th amendment. Maya Angelou's poem expresses these challenges
and overcoming them, in contrast.
The 1st line of the 1st stanza recognizes history, "You may write me down in history". This line
itself holds extreme value. Emotion aside, there are years of history of oppression, slavery,
suffrage, and women's rights. History can be told from any person's point of view. There is both
emotion and fact in history, based off whose point of view you learn it from. If received from an
African Americans point of view, there is a vision of slavery and suffrage. If an African American
woman tells the story there is also a story of woman's rights.
That being said, anyone can tell the history of America. From Maya's point of view, if someone
tells the story with fault and evasive truth, "with your bitter twisted lies", she knows the story of
her life and of her ancestry. She knows that even with everything she faced, from being raped at 8
years old, which led her to become a mute for more

Still I Rise
"Still I Rise" Poem Analysis "Still I Rise" was written by Maya Angelou, who is an
African–American poet. A majority of her poems are written on slavery and life as a African–
American woman. "Still I Rise" is one of the many well known. She discusses how she is treated
differently and refers to her ancestry and relates to events they went through during the time of
slavery and the events she continues to go through during her time period of life. "This poem has
been an inspiration to people from all different walks of life." "Still I Rise" is an amazing poem
that not only speaks of the troubles of slavery and Maya's struggles in life but I think this poem is
also a victory call a banner of hope and encouragement to all those that...show more content...
She refers to "...hopes springing high" in line eleven with the knowledge that everyone has high
hopes and dreams for their lives. Everyone will always keep hoping. Just as peoples hopes will
rise she will continue to rise also. She rises above the negativity of the words and actions that try to
tear and crush her spirit. In stanza four Maya Angelou asks a series of rhetorical questions in lines
thirteen and fourteen. She knows that people want to see her broken, weak and crying from the
criticism and hateful words that have been said to her. She not only had to deal with criticism from
being an African–American in a time when whites did not accept them into their society but also
dealing with the fact that she was an African–American woman. During the fifties women were
expected to marry and be a helping hand around the house. They were not expected to be in the
working field. Just imagine how hard it had to be to make as an African–American women trying to
achieve her goals. But she refuses to show how difficult it was through her emotion she just rises
above it. In stanza five she talks of laughter. Laughter can be said to cure everything. By laughing
at the negativity that is being thrown in you direction it will make it easier to brush it off and play
it off as if it never offended you. Causing disappointment to the people who wanted to see that they
can affect your attitude and walk all over you. By laughing

Theme Of Still I Rise
In the late 20th century, black feminism as a political and social movement grew out of black
women's feelings of discontent with both the civil rights movement and the feminist movement. In
the 1970's, women started developing a theory which helped to explain their oppression pockets of
resistance began to organize and challenge patriarchy.
Maya Angelou, an American poet, at first grew up with the name Marguerite Annie Johnson. She
was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1928. She was respected as a spokesperson for black people and
women, and her works have been considered a defense of Black culture. Her deep suffeing as being
one of Black women is the reason of her success as she said ''When we talk about racism, we have to
see that we are not...show more content...
By doing so, Angleou makes a contrast between the difficult past with its hardships and
disappointments to the bright promise of the future. Angleou also uses alliteration in "past rooted in
pain" and in "huts of history" which affect the rhythm of the poem. All of these literary devices
demonstrates the extent of the speaker's power to overcome obstacles and still she rise.
Angleou uses strong words like lies, broken, pain, terror and fear to describe how she feels as there
is nothing can bring her down. she symbolizes herself and all the black african american women in te
world by using t "Black ocean". As this image is full of fear to show the audiences that she has
spent all her life facing the terrors and fear Moreover, Angleou's motif comes to overcome all these
obstacles and oppression.
In conclusion, I believe the central theme of the poem is about an African American woman's
struggle against racism and hatred from society. Maya's main purpose is to encourge and inspire the
oppressed people to rise to fight against the injustices and to continue to live despite of all
difficulties.The Repetition of Still I rise shows that Angleou's intention to encourge the African
AMerican to rise up and stay strong. The repetition affects the whole poem as it increases the
emotions gradually and poems ends with I

Still I Rise
The battle of self–love vs. finding one's true purpose in life
A Study of Maya Angelou's
"Still I rise" and "I know why the caged bird sings"
The purpose of this essay is to examine the theme of immense self–love versus finding one's true
purpose in life and accepting who one was meant to be despite all obstacles. In Maya Angelou's "Still
I Rise" and "I know why the caged bird sings" the reader can debate the two through the use of
emotion and metaphor choice. In "Still I rise" the reader can observe similarities in Angelou's words
to describe self–acceptance and self–satisfaction. In "I know why the caged bird sings" readers can
relate to the struggle of finding one's true purpose and battling how others see them aside from who
they...show more content...
As stated in stanza 4 "Did you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders
falling down like teardrops, weakened by my soulful cries?" Angelou is relating with readers by
letting them know that it is not always easy to be strong. Angelou explains how those who were
against her were expecting to see her low and doing poorly as the bird in "I know why the caged
bird sings" was. Instead of giving them the power over her she rose stronger than she was when she
was initially knocked down. What Angelou wants the reader to take from this stanza is that although
you may not spring back automatically from a let down; do not allow the negative person or
situation to see you failing or see that the negative situation is affecting you. By showing them that
weakness you have handed that person or situation the winning strength that lies within

Maya Angelou's Still I Rise
This seminar paper will look at a poem written by Maya Angelou, Still I rise, 1978. An analysis of
this poem will be provided, exploring the meaning of the poem and the language used to present a
certain image to the audience.
"Dr. Angelou experienced the brutality of racial discrimination, but she also absorbed the unshakable
faith and values of traditional African–American family, community, and
culture"(www.mayaangelou.com, 2014).
This poem is Maya Angelou speaking to the audience as she explains the problems she has overcome
such as; racism, sexism, bullying and other problems in her life that she has managed to move on
from.This poem is set in a first person narrative, Angelou explains to the audience about the good
and bad times...show more content...
Whereas, "you," is related to the white population, this shows the division of both races. This is a
setting of one of Angelou's problems, overcoming racism, and still rising. "Bringing the gifts my
ancestors gave, I am the dream and the hope of the slave," (stanza 8) this line relates to slavery, the
pain she and her family went through during these times of cruelty. This also allows us to picture
the author, Angelou, as a strong African woman, who has overcome many obstacles in her life.
"Still I rise," the name of the poem is repeated throughout the poem to intensify her strength and
pride of overcoming her past experiences, and also that she continues to overcome other situations.
This allows the poem to be viewed in a positive way by the audience as Angelou overcomes these
situations and being able to connect with the reader as she portrays that to them.
In this poem, every other line rhymes, "Out of the huts of history's shame, I rise, up from a past
that's rooted in pain, I rise, I'm a black ocean leaping and wide, welling and swelling I bear in the
tide,"(stanza 8) this allows the poet to guide the reader throughout the poem and keep them
involved. "Black ocean," this phrase gives a sense of fear because of the colour black, telling the
reader that the ocean is cruel and full of evil. This may be related to the fact that Angelou is a black
woman, who has gone through some unexpected horrible events. Angelou has used imagery

Still I Rise
Analyse how language features were used to reveal the attitudes of one or more characters or
individuals in the written text.
Often in written texts, a characters attitude can be identified in the use of language features applied
by the author. The poem 'Still I rise' written by Maya Angelou, is one such text. The text explores the
persona's opinion towards discrimination and her attitudes that enable her to overcome challenges.
The positive attitudes of the character (persona) are determination, confidence and powerful which
are revealed through the use of simile, repetition, rhetorical questions and personification.
In 'Still I Rise', Maya Angelou uses the language feature of simile and repetition to reveal the
determined attitude of the persona. The simile and repetition of the key phrase is used to...show more
content...
The main symbol in this example is dust. In order for dust to rise, it must be unsettled from the
ground so it can leave and rise. Through this, Maya Angelou is able to express that she is
determined to overcome racism as she is willing to rise above any prejudice she faces. Her
oppressors are on the ground and because they have unsettled her by treating her wrong, she is
now stronger than ever and her attitude of determination comes through this example. Dirt is
seen as a dirty object, but no matter how much you step on it or brush it away, it stands tall and
finds a way to escape to keep on going. Maya Angelou uses this feature to represent her
determination to keep moving above the racism she is faced with. This particular simile also
creates imagery as this helps the reader picture the rising cloud of dust and her determination that
enables her to do this. The language feature of repetition is also used to reveal the attitude of
determination of the persona. The phrase, "I'll rise" is repeated three times at the end of the poem.
It is a very simple yet powerful phrase as it emphasises the persona's ability to overcome and rise
above any

Still I Rise Poetic Devices
The Subject of the Poem " Still I rise " Is very contrast, and it revolves around the subject of being
treated very poorly of their enemies, but this poem suggest that the poet is speaking to a community
of people, especially the whites / Caucasians. This is because there are context clues given to suggest
and highlight this, such as the last stanza, because each line suggested dominance of a culture, or
the ancestral culture, such as that the first line of the last stanza implies that there may be nights
where the people leave terror and fear, and it implies slavery, but the poet wanted to leave it behind
and start a new life. the second line of the last stanza implies that the poet does not intend to allow
the hatefulness of the society and looking...show more content...
The rhyme scheme of the poem on almost all stanzas were abcb, and there were allusions that
were used such as oil well pumping in my living room, gold mine digging in my backyard, and
diamonds at the meeting of my thighs, which expresses the poets confidence and hope. There
were also rhetorical questions that were given such as "Why are you beset with gloom?" "Did
you want to see me broken?" "Does my haughtiness offend you?", that expressed that her enemy's
attemps to pull her down are futile and that she will continue on. The poet also used hyperboles
which were seen as in one stanza, "You may shoot me with your words, You may cut me with your
eyes, You may kill me with your hatefulness, But still, like air, I'll rise.", which over exaggerates on
hoe the enemy pulls her down, and the poem also uses a first person point of view by using the
pronouns I and

Still I Rise
Still I Rise by Maya Angelou is a very moving ballad poem, and has a positive and strong tone
throughout it. The main theme of this poem is discrimination. It portrays a strong woman living
with confidence and a positive attitude. The reason why I chose to write my essay on Still I Rise
is because it has a very powerful message. Although this poem was written in 1978, I feel as if
anyone can relate to it even in this time period. Everybody experiences discrimination at some
point in their lives, and this poem teaches readers to have pride and hope in their selves in order to
overcome any obstacle that comes their way. There are quite a few poetic devices in the poem I will
be focusing on such as similes, metaphors, repetition and...show more content...
She feels free and open like the ocean, able to overcome any difficulty. The metaphor can also be
described as cruelty or evil, and how things can occur unexpectedly. This could be how her life is
full of horrific and unexpected events. The "black ocean" may also be referring to her race and it
can inform readers that this poem is about racism. The metaphors used in the poem allow the
audience to understand the bigger picture of the poem by exaggerating. The two last poetic
devices mainly used in Still I Rise are imagery and repetition. In the fourth stanza, the lines, "Did
you want to see me broken? Bowed head and lowered eyes? Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries." appeals to the readers' awareness. Those lines describe a
silhouette of defeat, with a slumped posture and distressed eyes, which indicates failure and
disappointment. Furthermore, the "soulful cries" deepens the image by adding a sense of audio
layer, now the reader not only sees what defeat must feel like, but hears it too. The repetition used
in the poem was "I'll rise; I rise". By repeating these words, it emphasizes Angelou's message of
staying strong and never allowing anything or anyone to stop you from fighting and living
confidently. This also helps the message stand out, which makes it much more powerful and
significant. All of these literary devices together contribute furthermore into the depths of the poem
by demonstrating the amount of the speaker's power to

Still I Rise Essay

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